Quote Originally Posted by auld argonian
...just a dumb newbie question (two questions, actually):

...could someone please give me a phonetic pronunciation of sgain dubh so that I don't make an *** of myself if the topic comes up in conversation...

...and would the plural be "sgains dubh" or "sgain dubhs"?

I had a buddy who was very up on Gaelic languages and I once pinned him down on why some of the words are pronounced so differently from their spelling even when they are "anglicized" for consumption by the unenlightened...he had no good answer for the question...go figure.

best

argonian
Dread's close enough, there's sort of a skip in the first word "ski" then "yen" or "yan", the NOO sound sort of goes nasal on the first O and slides to normal. The k sound is not too sharp that's why you sometimes see the hard "g" sound. It's in between there. The "y" is barely there. That's why it's a different language and varied spelling for the English. There's a lot of lilts, pauses, and emphasis. All of which vary from area to area. The basic rule is to say it very fast and try and make it all one word.

Plural, most would accept skean dhus, Scottish Gaelic plural is usually an "ach" suffix. I'm not sure what the absolute grammar rule would be. Try, "Please give me a skean dhu, and while you're at it, give me two more." (I know, I stole that from some president, I think.)